The Subversive Copy Editor Blogtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-866740003942950512013-10-23T08:14:16-05:00What may be the best copy editor's companion since CMS. Publishers WeeklyTypePadWhat Copyeditors Can Learn Online(Maybe Not What You Think)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c019aff607726970d2013-10-23T08:14:16-05:002013-10-23T08:14:46-05:00You might think you can learn to copyedit by taking a class, but I promise, even if your class does a great job of exposing you to a style manual and the general practices of editing, it can only scratch the surface. To learn well, you must . . .Carol Fisher SallerToo Late to Learn? Helping the Reluctant with Technologytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c019104589815970c2013-07-26T09:53:17-05:002013-07-26T09:52:58-05:00Everyone has at least one friend, relative, or colleague who is not yet competent in even the most basic computer tasks: creating a document, e-mailing, browsing online.
[Continue reading]Carol Fisher SallerAnd the Winner Is . . .tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017ee9e08865970d2013-04-01T07:05:40-05:002013-04-01T07:04:15-05:00Thank you so much, fellow confessors! It was fun, therapeutic, and a little painful reading about your gaffes and lapses. Many of them sound familiar: spelling-check errors, overlooked homophones, misguided global corrections, and those goofs that are simply too huge to catch. Maybe worst of all are the ones we introduce ourselves in a moment of mental vacation. Carol Fisher SallerCopyeditor Confessions: Me Firsttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017ee9a89c24970d2013-03-25T08:07:14-05:002013-03-25T08:07:05-05:00Here in Chicago we have to work at celebrating the advent of spring. Even typing in my subzero office is challenging—thank god for fingerless gloves. So my idea is this: in the spirit of spring cleaning, since there’s no way I’m throwing my mattresses out in the snow, let’s air our consciences instead. Let’s confess our copyediting sins! I’ll stop at three. (Not that I have more than that . . .)Carol Fisher SallerWannabe Editors: Can You Pass a Proofreading Test?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017c3735e30d970b2013-03-04T07:12:35-06:002013-03-04T07:11:59-06:00When my office hires at the entry level, there’s a proofreading and copyediting test, and for various reasons we give the test in person and on paper: It levels the playing field by eliminating access to e-mail and online sources. It shows us how a person will mark up copy on the job (a frequent chore for the new kid). It isolates proofing and editing skills from word-processing skills. Results vary.Carol Fisher SallerAn Opportunity for Word Nerds: Beta-Test the Dictionary of Regional Englishtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017ee7e3fe25970d2013-01-25T09:10:47-06:002013-01-25T09:10:47-06:00Just a short note today to let you know of an opportunity to have free online access to the new Dictionary of American Regional English in exchange for your help in vetting it—if you qualify, that is! For writers and...Carol Fisher SallerTech Tips: Two Chores Made Easytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017d3fa53a40970c2013-01-09T07:42:09-06:002013-01-09T07:40:08-06:00Today I have tips for disposing of two tasks in mere seconds. While less savvy writers and editors are laboring over for the same chores for hours, we can go dancing!Carol Fisher SallerHow Sticklers Give Copyediting a Bad Nametag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017ee6177086970d2012-12-12T08:36:05-06:002012-12-12T08:35:56-06:00Public sticklers have annoyed me forever, and I’ve been meaning to write about that, but recently, in a post titled “Editors, Would You Do Me This Tiny Favour?” Katy McDevitt at PublishEd Adelaide did a great job of it herself. McDevitt gets to the meat of it in point 3: Carol Fisher SallerFor Writers: Promoting Your Book; Is There Any Point?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017ee5b4a2e7970d2012-11-28T09:22:59-06:002012-11-28T13:26:58-06:00(Some chores are more fun than others!) How many times have you run into someone at a writers’ event who seems freaked out by the task of marketing a new book? It’s always the same: the writer is eager to...Carol Fisher SallerDear Carol: My Staff Is Out of Control!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a010536d5bba5970c017c33b1ee08970b2012-11-20T07:19:59-06:002012-11-21T09:44:36-06:00I’m an editor who craves (and requires) an orderly chain of command when handling a manuscript. Up to this point, I’ve worked with a limited staff: me, a copyeditor, and a designer. We’re expanding the journal. It is now an online publication. Now, I’m working with others in the office who are in the habit of distributing manuscripts and video files to a whole group of people simultaneously for feedback. I hate this disorderly process, which seems counterproductive. Carol Fisher Saller